Herd Behavior as a Determinant of Students’ Choice of Major to Study in the University

Mahmoud, Ferial Alhaj

Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal
Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026): Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal

After graduation from secondary school, students think of their choice of university major, a decision that may be affected by factors beyond their own preferences, including herd behavior effect. The aims of this study were to construct a scale for the herd behavior effect on students’ university major choice (HBMC) and to explore any differences in this effect according to gender and college. A ten-item scale developed by the researcher was administered to a sample of 1,254 students from six universities in Jordan.  Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the unidimensional structure for the HBMC scale, and its good psychometric properties (α=0.953). The results also indicated significant gender differences in herd behavior effects, in favor of males (F=5.281, df =1, p<0.01). These results highlight the importance of psychological and vocational guidance programs to enhance secondary school students’ independent thinking to select their university major according to their inclinations, abilities, aspirations, and their plans of professional future, rather than blindly imitating of others.